Saturday, 26 September 2009

Songs of Lalla

Ingredients:

Lalla lived in Kashmir during the first part of the 1300s. In that period, Kashmir was home to devotees of Shiva and devotees of Vishnu, to Islamic Sufis and to followers of Tantric Buddhism. Lalla's poems reflect all she learned from these, synthesized to become the expression of her own devotion in colloquial Kashmiri, rather than the Sanskrit of contemporary philosophical writing. The variety of her names reflects the wide appeal of her poems: In Hindi, she is Lal Ded (grandmother Lal); in Sanskrit, Lalleshwari (Lalla the yogini); while to Muslims, she is Lal Arifa.

Lalla was apparently from a family of Brahmins near Pampore; her poetry shows her knowledge of Sanskrit and of the Hindu scriptures. Tradition says that she left her husband after some years of an unhappy marriage to become a student of Hindu and Sufi teachers. Then she became an itinerant preacher throughout the Kashmir Valley, singing her vakhs (songs) of Shiva and of the search for truth, through an inner spirituality rather than dogma and ritual.

It gave me courageTo face and tear the darkness downCutting it to shreds.~*~Oh, poor Mind, in loveWith worldly things you know will pass,Why do you forget?~*~I might scatter cloudsOr drain the seaOr cure the illThat can’t be curedBut Mind of foolI cannot change.~*~That which is sweet, first is bitter.That which is bitter, first is sweet.To each a choice, then it all depends.On effort and unflagging willTo reach the city of your choice.~*~Siva abides in all that is, everywhere;Then do not discriminate betweena Hindu or a Muslim.If thou art wise, know thyself;That is true knowledge of the Lord.~*~It covers your shame,Saves you from cold,Provides food and drink,Needs only water and grass.Who counselled you, O Brahmin,To slaughter a living sheepAs a sacrifice to a lifeless stone?~*~I got one advice“Transfer the attention within!”Since then I go nude.~*~Straight I came and straightI shall return not fearing HimWho knows and loves me.~*~Penance breeds conceitPandering will get you nowhereSo be moderate.~*~Who slays the highway robbers three,Greed, Lust and Pride,And yet, in utter humility, serveshis fellow manHe truly seeks out the Lord,disregarding as worthless ashesall other things.~*~Do good to others,For that is the real religion.And rest when tired.~*~Patience to endureThe darkest hour never doubtingHe will come to you.~*~

In the last watch of the moonlit night, remonstrating with my wayward mind, I soothed my pain with the love of God. Gently, gently, accosting myself, "O Lalla, Lalla, Lalla", I woke my Love, my Lord and Master, Absorbed in it, my mind was cleansed.~*~When my mind was cleansed of impurities,like a mirror of its dust and dirt,I recognized the Self in me:When I saw Him dwelling in me,I realized that He was the Everythingand I was nothing.~*~For a moment I suppressed the bellows of respiration,Lo and behold! The Lamp lit up brightly and I realized my Self!The light within me sparkled out;In the encompassing darkness, I seized at It and gripped It tightly.~*~Let go the sacred tantra rites,Only the mantra sound remains.And when the mantra sound departs,Only the citta is left behind.Then lo! the citta itself is gone,And there is nothing left behind;The void merges in the Void~*~Gently, gently, I trained my mindto suspend its processes and thoughts.Then (in the windless calm), the flame of the Lamp,shining steady and bright,Revealed my true nature unto me.In the dark recesses of my soulI seized upon Him and held Him fast.Then I diffused the inner light,And within, without, all was Light.~*~If you've melted your desiresin the river of time, chooseto be a recluse, or choosea family, the village job.

If you know the pure Lord within you,you'll be That, wherever.~*~If you’re wise, be foolish.If you can see, squint.Though you can hear, sitDumb as an old rock.Whatever anyone says,Listen and agree.This is a friendly practice,And it leads to some truth.~*~I put into practice whatever I read, the unread was lost to my consciousness; I dragged the lion down the forest by his silken mane as if he were a jackal! I preached what I practiced, That way did knowledge dawn on me.~*~Intense cold makes water ice.Then the hard ice turns to slushand back to water, so there are threeforms of consciousness: the individual,the world, and God, which in the sunof True Awareness melt to one flowing:

Lalla is that.~*~Meditate within eternity.Don't stay in the mind.

Your thoughts are like a child frettingnear its mother's breast, restlessand afraid, who with a little guidance,can find the path to courage.~*~The soul, like the moon,is now, and always new again.

And I have seen the oceancontinuously creating.

Since I scoured my mindand my body, I too, Lalla,am new, each moment new.~*~Dance, Lalla, with nothing onbut air. Sing, Lalla,wearing the sky.Look at this glowing day! What clothes could be so beautiful,or more sacred?~*~The way is difficult and very intricate.Lalla discarded her books that toldabout it, and through meditationsaw the truth that never comesto anyone from reading words.

17 comments:

Thank you Nancy! I do find them very beautiful in their simplicity and directness and saying so much in so few words. I discovered some more lovely verses by her which I've written out and am about to post.

Full of Love, I set out on my Quest.Day and Night, I searched from East to West.In my own home I found him to reside,And catching him, he has since been my Guide.

O, Lord! The Self in myself and others I did not recognizeFor I have always only known this one feeble body.That you and I were joined in one, why! I did not know,And still I had doubts concerning who are you and who am I.

The chain of Embarrassment will only breakWhen I am immune to mocking words.The robe of Self-Pity will burn awayWhen the horse of Mind is tamed.

Both Good and Evil I must endure.My ears don’t hear, my eyes don’t see.When the inner Self awakens in the Heart,It will shine like a lamp in the midst of a tornado.

Physically and mentally I am absorbed in Him.I heard the bell of Truth ringOn this state I meditatedAnd realized the manifest and the unmanifest.

I, Lalla, suffered the fire of love.Before death I died without a trace.Reborn without colour or creed, and without them,I left me. What else could I do?

In the midst of being lost, I lost the sense of being lost.Once lost, I found myself in this ocean of the world.Laughing and playing, I attained all-pervading SelfAnd this philosophy has become the “I”.

I took the reins of the horse of Mind.Through practice, I learned to focus on the breath.Then only the orb of the moon melted and flowedDown into my body, nothingness into nothingness.

Listening to scriptures intensifies the fear of death.Those who do not lean on them will flourish.Renounce the ego and meditate on the Self.Renouncing the ego, one finds the Self.

Deeds I performed became an offering,Words spoken became mantra,Bodily experiences were for self-knowledge.That is the essence of Shiva tantra.

Acquiring a kingdom will not make you content.Giving it up will not satisfy your mind.Being free from desires, you will not die.Self-knowledge is to be dead to worldly things while still alive.

Kill your mortal enemies, lust, anger and desire.Otherwise they would kill you with their arrows.Calm them with self-restraint and good thoughtsAnd recognize their nature and their power.

Arise, Lady! And prepare for worship.With wine, meat and a dainty choice of food.If you know the supreme state,Breaking customs will make no difference.

I think she was saying not to deny the body the food and sleep it needs because that would be feeding the pride of the "ascetic ego" which you were saying yourself I think on your thread. So, "rest when tired" really means "do good to yourself" or take care of needs... so maybe to sum everything up even more briefly, "look to others, look to yourself". Still I think the rest is useful by way of explanation. ;^) Briefer still one could say "look to others as yourself" and we get back to the golden rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"...

I really liked this post too, thank you! Kashmir sounds like it was a great place back then.

"It covers your shame,Saves you from cold,Provides food and drink,Needs only water and grass.Who counselled you, O Brahmin,To slaughter a living sheepAs a sacrifice to a lifeless stone?"

Sounds like she was way ahead of her time with that one.

"Dance, Lalla, with nothing onbut air. Sing, Look at this glowing day! What clothes could be so beautiful,or more sacred?"

This stood out to me too, because "Lalla,wearing the sky." is so beautiful, but also because women have such issues with their bodies and the fact that she was beyond that, just that alone shows her power.

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My online pen-name is okei. I'm a lover of mathematics & poetry & philosophy, and a perennial student in the UK with an interest in sport, world music, world film, the wisdom of the mystics, and the essence of beauty, love and knowledge.